


S.H.I.E.L.D. Holiday Traditions

by Bluesy_Deth



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Christmas Feels, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-26
Updated: 2013-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-06 06:48:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1103735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluesy_Deth/pseuds/Bluesy_Deth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being officially dead doesn't exempt Phil Coulson from taking his turn heading up the annual end-of-year charity efforts at S.H.I.E.L.D.</p>
            </blockquote>





	S.H.I.E.L.D. Holiday Traditions

Being officially dead doesn't exempt Phil Coulson from taking his turn heading up the annual end-of-year charity efforts at S.H.I.E.L.D. Not that he really minds though he snarks and sasses his way through the duties, anyway. It's a tradition they all adhere to as the senior-most agents wade through intel on underfunded orphanages and group homes for children in the major cities with S.H.I.E.L.D. bases. Throughout the year, agents submit info on the forgotten children and their living conditions while S.H.I.E.L.D employees around the world donate money to purchase needed supplies and educational goods for the kids. It's called Operation Education and it has its own email address on the S.H.I.E.L.D website so info can be submitted year round. They try to pick different facilities every year and there seem to be more and more needy as time goes by which is part of the reason the Agent in Charge of OpEd tends to grumble and grouse- trying to cover the near despair at making the generosity of the employees stretch as far as possible. 

If a chosen facility shows signs of celebrating a religious holiday towards the end of the year then the gifts are left on their doorstep on an appropriate date. For those who celebrate the religious or secular Christmas it's always in the wee hours of December 25. They wake to a welcome surprise and tears are often shed by the responsible adults onsite as they realize what the bounty will mean to their charges. Someone's always watching and recording so the videos go out on the S.H.I.E.L.D news feed to all employees on the last day of the year. For a group whose mission is to protect and secure peace on a war torn planet, those videos are a re-boot of sorts and help energize them for another year of hard work and, too often, dashed hopes when they can't save someone.

Phil's done this role many years and always ends up in Fury's office sighing into a glass of good single malt as he unwinds after the year's campaign ends. Early on, he'd snarked in front of a baby agent, Maria Hill, that once a year S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't stand for Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. In December, it turns into Santa's Helper In Expediting and Logistics Division for one lucky Agent in Charge. The next time his turn had come up, she'd snuck a tee shirt into his bag at the base laundry where they were both stationed. It read Santa's Helper In Expediting and Logistics Division and instead of the eagle it had a sleigh being pulled by reindeer. On this December 26, after a longer than usual Christmas day, Phil undressed slowly and prepared for a hot shower before finally grabbing some sleep. He tidied his suit and shoes before putting them away and, clad in the boxers and tee he'd worn for nearly 39 hours, walked into the already steamy bathroom. He caught sight of himself in the mirror and the worn logo Maria had made up for him all those years ago was faded beyond recognition. He knew, though; knew what good they'd tried to do for desperate little ones in multiple cities, how far they'd made the money go this year (though it would never be far enough), how they'd try harder next year- always trying harder. For a moment, sorrow crossed his face but then he rubbed his hand across the logo on his chest and smiled. His favorite Christmases were the ones where he was the Agent in Charge. Probably because he'd created Operation Education with Assistant Director Fury all those many years ago.

**Author's Note:**

> Nice try, but don't bother emailing operationeducation@shield.gov. They're not that easy for non-employees to find.


End file.
